Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Predicting Telugu Titans' starting seven for the initial matches

The franchise based on Hyderabad, Telugu Titans have been on a rollercoaster ride in their voyage to becoming Pro Kabaddi champions.Their best performances came in Season two when they ended their run at the 3rd position. Owned by Veera Sports, Telugu Titans have a winning percentage of just 45.12%. The poster boy Rahul Chaudhari is the only Indian player to feature in a single team from the inaugural season of Pro Kabaddi till Season 6.Having played over 79 matches with the Titans, Rahul is the first player to cross 700+ points in Pro Kabaddi, 710 points to be exact. He has led Telegu Titans for the majority of their wins with over 32 Super 10s to his name.Filled with huge names in the past like Sandeep Narwal, Deepak Hooda, and Meraj Shyekh, Titans' defense has led them downwards for a lot of times. Lack of team coordination and only Rahul leading from the front has cost them a lot of matches.In season 5, the team only could attain one victory from their home leg out of six games. No other raider apart from Rahul couldn't even score 100 raid points for their team.Their second raider, Nilesh Salunkhe could only manage to get 98 raid points in 21 matches. They found some hope in the defense when Vishal and Sombir consistently performed but their covers were totally out of touch. Titans retained Nilesh Salunkhe and Mohsen Maghsoudlu ahead of the auctions. Kamal Singh, Anand, and Ankit Beniwal were picked as their NYP retentions and they also announced Vishal Bhardwaj as their elite retentions in the dying stages before the auctions.After Season 6 auctions, Telugu Titans have managed to sign 18 players in their squad. After an intense bid by Dabang Delhi K.C., Titans used their FBM card to retain Rahul Chaudhari at ₹1.29 crores, the 2nd highest paid player ahead of Season 6.With Jag Mohan Lal as their head coach and Sai Prasad as their assistant coach, Titans have created a formidable side this season. Let's take a look at what the team might consider for their playing 7 in the initial matches.Right Corner: Abozar MohajermighaniAbozar attempting a diving ankle hold over Mumba's Kuldeep Singh in Season 5Abozar Mighani had played a vital role in Gujarat Fortune Giants' splendid run towards the finals of Season 5. Abozar with Fazel Atrachali stood as a pillar in the corner's defense.Abozar magnificently scored 65 tackle points in 24 matches at an average of 2.71 tackle points per match. He just got 2 High5s, however, he showed consistency at a regular pace. A diving ankle hold specialist, Abozar can disrupt the left raiders without any margin of errors in his efforts.Considering his ability to make things more difficult for big match raiders like Pardeep Narwal, Abozar was signed at an enormous deal of ₹76 lakhs. With Vishal Bhardwaj as his corner partner, this corner defensive duo is undoubtedly the strongest of them all.

Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Predicting Telugu Titans' starting seven for the initial matches

Right Cover: Farhad Milaghardhan